Ukraine's Accounting Chamber during the second half of 2018 will audit $46.3 million in bonuses awarded to Naftogaz employees for their contribution to winning a court case with the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom at the Stockholm arbitration court.

"I shared my plans for audits on road repairs and sky-high Naftogaz bonuses," Valery Patskan, the head of the Accounting Chamber, wrote on his Facebook page.

As reported, the Stockholm arbitration court sided with Ukraine and fined Gazprom $4.6 billion. As a result of the decisions of two arbitration disputes on the supply and transit of gas, Gazprom is obliged to pay Naftogaz $2.56 billion.

At the end of May, the Supervisory Board of Naftogaz Ukrainy decided to reward 41 employees of the company a total of $46.3 million, or 1% of the fine, for contributing to the victory in litigation with Gazprom. Of this amount, a personal income tax and other charges of more than $9 million will be paid.

According to Naftogaz's press service, the first tranche of the bonuses for the amount of $20.7 million (UAH 541 million) was paid, which corresponds to 1% of the winnings already recognized in the financial statements of Naftogaz for 2017. The remaining bonus tranches will be paid within three years solely on condition that the balance of the winnings ($2.6 billion) is successfully recovered from Gazprom.

Some parliament deputies from opposition factions criticized the decision. Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman asked Naftogaz's Supervisory Board to reconsider this decision, calling it "excessive," but his request was turned down.

Ukraine's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko said his office would also check the legality of giving such large bonuses.